Springsteen gets his location wrong, media has a field day? WTF???

You'd think all my years in the music business would make me immune to the stupidity of some of the media, wouldn't you?

Surprise. At times, they're the gift that keeps on giving.

I refer to the media flurry over Bruce Springsteen greeting his audience with the wrong location the other night. The man said, "Hello Ohio!" to a crowd in Michigan. Horror of horrors (!)


For those unfamiliar with unusual punctuation marks, the above exclamation point in parenthesis denotes sarcasm. (Handy little guy, isn't it?)

What the media either doesn't know--or what the media may know full well but may be choosing to ignore in order to create a "story"-- is this:

Shouting out the wrong location happens to nearly every performer. It's an occupational hazard that comes along with faced-paced tour schedules, jet lag, and concert venues that often look a hell of a lot alike and are sometimes even named identically. Shouting out the wrong location doesn't even mildly qualify for my Music Business Blunders column on MusicBizAdvice.com, simply because it happens to pretty much every touring musician at least once. It happens to comedians, too.

A little embarrassing? Yes. But "left shame-faced", as some of the media, including the Mirror, reported? Puh-lease. "Shame-faced" is what the media should feel for reporting such a thing. (Google "Bruce Springsteen wrong state" and see what comes up: over 71,000 results as I write this.)

Anyone who's ever worked backstage at an arena has seen the temporary signage posted by the crew of that night's artist. In the production office, the dressing rooms, on the walls of the hallway leading to the stage, pinned to the fabric of the quick-change tents at the side of the stage, and sometimes even taped to mirrors and telephones are reminders: "You are in Phoenix, Arizona." "This is Buffalo!" "Cleveland!!!"

You can't tell me the media has never seen them.

But for the artist, who's accustomed to being on the road and makes his home on it for weeks or months at a time, it's like anything else that becomes familiar: after a while, you just don't notice it.

There's no offense intended, either to the town in which the mistake occurs, or to the audience. It just happens.

I can't count the number of times backstage when a musician or crew member, in the middle of a conversation, has asked me, "This is [such and such city], right?" Or, accompanied by a nervous laugh, a sheepish, "Where are we?" Most of them were stone-cold sober at the time.

But here's the most important, and in my opinion, the coolest, thing: Many musicians never forget a face, and a lot of them even remember the name that goes with it...

especially a reporter who exaggerates a common occurrence for the sake of creating a story.

(Oh, and psssst! By the way, Reporter, the correct name of the venue, which you bungled in the midst of your railing on Bruce, is The Palace of Auburn Hills. I'm sure the good people of Michigan would like to see that corrected.)

Cheers!

6 1/2 hour day for an H1N1 shot

After careful consideration--and a lot of discussion with friends in the healthcare industry--on Sunday morning, with CFIDS* symptoms flaring loudly, I got up at 4:30 A.M. to stand in line to get the H1N1 flu shot.

I don't usually get a flu shot, but this one is different. My reasons for getting the H1N1 vaccine are that I have a double-whammy risk factor (autoimmune disease + asthma), and because I can name four friends of friends who've died from H1N1. Since I'll be be exposed to large crowds at shows I'll be attending this winter and spring, the odds lean heavily toward protecting myself.

(Sidebar: The sickest I've ever been was the day after receiving a handshake from an artist's fan who informed me--after shaking my hand--that she'd dragged herself out of bed with a high fever because she couldn't stand the thought of missing the show. Then she ran off to the ladies' room to throw up. Thank God no one let her anywhere near the artist; it was a fast-acting bug with the power to cancel shows and put people out of work.)

By the time I arrived in line for the vaccine clinic a little before 6:30A.M., there were already a few hundred people in line...enough to pack at least a rock club. By the time the doors opened after 8, there were thousands. I couldn't see the end of the line, as it wound all the way around the block. I couldn't see the beginning of it either, or how far we'd have to walk to get into the building where the vaccination clinic would take place. My best friend, who went beyond the definition by coming with me to stand in line, volunteered for a front of the line reconnaissance mission. One of L.A.P.D.'s finest was standing at the entrance of the building to be sure no one cut the line, with more on hand for crowd control.

The lady in front of me had a cane. There were some elderly people (who came in teams of two, so that one could stand in line while the other sat resting for a while on a low wall across the street), and a lot of pregnant women, and many babies who'd been roused from their warm beds to stand in the California morning air, which, despite its warm reputation, can cut to the bone if there's a damp wind coming off the ocean. I couldn't help wondering what would become of the people who weren't well enough to stand in line for hours that day. There was no handicapped access, though I did see two healthcare workers helping an elderly lady to the vaccination room.

The people in line, for the most part, were not poor; just uninsured, like me, or in some cases they'd come in search of the vaccine because their regular doctor didn't have it yet.

Welcome to the U.S. healthcare system.

Not that I'm not grateful to be able to get the shot at all; I'm currently without a regular doctor and would probably be out of luck if I had to rely on a doctor's office delivery system. But my friends in Europe didn't have to go through this; they simply went to their regular healthcare provider, with no waiting, no fuss, no getting out of bed at O'dark:30 to stand in a long line around a cold football field. And everyone is covered. But I digress. Back to our U.S. vaccine clinic...

After a while, when the vaccine began to run low, pregnant women were pulled from the line and admitted first. The rest of us were asked to fill out questionnaires to determine our medical priority. It began to feel a bit like a poker game: he's 29, she's got such and such, autoimmune plus asthma beats a pair. My survival mode kicked in, and although I answered the questions truthfully, I highlighted the answers that would be most helpful in getting me in by marking them with a very large X instead of the checkmarks I normally use. I also hoped that the low grade fever I'm used to having, but could barr me from getting the vaccine, would make a hasty exit. It did.

After a check of my paperwork by several of the clinic workers, I was admitted to the vaccination line. Autoimmune people are sometimes advised to get the "thimerosol free" version to give our systems less to try to deal with. But the clinic was running low on it, so I was sent to consult with one of the doctors. He said there was still a small trace amount of thimerosol in the "thimerosol free" version, which what with my flaring CFIDS symptoms, scared me a little. Then he said, in the direct manner I use when a client is headed for legal trouble, "You're autoimmune. You need to have this" which scared me more. Ahh, The Power of the White Coat. Attitude adjusted, and paperwork OK'd for "thimerosol free", I got my shot.

It was 11:00A.M.

*In the U.S., the autoimmune disease I have is called CFIDS or CFS and has a very vague diagnosis and treatment protocol which in the U.S. often focuses more on fatigue than on other, more serious symptoms of the disease. In the UK and Canada, what I have is called Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.), which has a more specific diagnosis and treatment protocol that focuses more on the serious symptoms such as the cognitive, brain injury and respiratory aspects of the disease. Since writing this entry I've joined the campaign to change its name in the U.S., because eliminating the word Fatigue from its title would help provide better medical care, research, and funding for patients in the U.S., as well as better understanding of the disease by the general public.

Facebook Follies

Arrrgh! Over on my personal Facebook account, Facebook's automatic spam catcher has banned me from sending private messages. It's infuriating because I'm adamant about MusicbizAdvice.com staffers adhering to CAN-SPAM Act rules, and neither we, nor I, engage in it.

I also don't use Facebook's Friend Find function, nor do I contact random Friends of Friends that Facebook recommends. (Maybe Facebook is pissed off that I don't?) In my opinion, and according to my understanding of the CAN-SPAM Act, THAT would be spam. And, as those of you on my Facebook Friends lists know, I rarely send Facebook messages or event notices, choosing to keep in touch with Facebook Friends by using the Wall / update function instead.

Here's how it happened, so it doesn't happen to you:

The supreme irony is, the Friend requesters contacted me first, not the other way around...

So, rather than just rudely ignoring people, I responded to the Friend requests from people I didn't know by using the "send message" option to ask them to please join me at my business Facebook instead, "as this one is my personal account" and included a link to my business Facebook (the facebook.com/MusicBizAdvice account). I've been doing it this way over on MySpace for years with no problem, and it's led to a lot of great conversation and a few actual working relationships and friendships...which is how social networking was originally supposed to work, right?

I sent 10-12 of these responses today, with a total of a mere 25 since opening my personal account in June. (Facebookers usually find me via my /MusicBizAdvice account, so there's really not much message traffic from my personal account.)

In sending the responses, I was afraid of accidentally triggering the anti spam filter, so I made a point of changing the wording and personalizing each one. I manually entered the captchas properly. Facebook gave me a popup warning telling me to "slow down". So I did. Then Facebook banned me from messages anyway.

(Sidebar: Facebook was the first entity ever to accuse me of being a fast typist, by the way. I'm a decent writer, occasionally even a good one, but a lousy typist. Our staffers and my former employers will have a good laugh at that.)

Simple solution: If Facebook offered a "Confirm friend to other account instead" option in its Friend acceptance options, and allowed the Friend requester to check a box that opted them in to being transferred over, this wouldn't happen.

That way, people could leave their privacy settings open just enough that their actual friends and relatives can find them, thus ENcouraging use of Facebook, rather than DIScouraging it.

Another irony: Over time, for direct communication, I've been gradually using Twitter more and more. (Why send a "message" when you can talk with someone directly, at a faster pace?) At this rate--first Facebook's privacy issues, then Facebook's content ownership / licensing issues, etc.--my Facebook accounts are rapidly headed toward being used simply to garner search engine results, with very little actual one-on-one conversation (kind of like MySpace has become)...which is the very thing Facebook was trying to avoid when it was created.

That doesn't seem fair to those of my family, friends, colleagues, and readers, who do enjoy using Facebook. Who wants to be used? But even more than that, it's not fair to the whole concept of social networking.

Get it together, Facebook.

A vocal so good it needs its own t-shirt!

Overheard in MusicBizAdvice.com Editor in Chief's office while listening to tracks from various bands: "That vocal's so good it should have its own T-shirt!"

The band in question was Stars Go Dim, the track in question was "Crazy", and the person who said it was me.

Check it out here.

And they're touring their butts off. I love that!

Edited to add that I have no connection to the band, the project, etc. I just liked that vocal & wanted to pass it on.

Random Thoughts About the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs)

Some notes I scribbled down during last night's VMA telecast...

1. The VMAs have become pretentious as hell. Over the past 15 years it's become more and more like watching a fashion industry party (actually at this point I think they're probably more fun). It was a lot more fun when the artists treated the VMAs like just another night at the Rainbow: fights over girlfriends, couples bickering in public, artists challenging each other to fights, people being overserved...Good times! :-D

2. Kudos to Madonna for her gutsy speech about Michael Jackson...especially her honest words about the fact that people in the industry turned their backs on him (including, she said, herself) when he was at his lowest.

3. The overall energy of this year's VMA's was very weird. The pacing of the show seemed off too.

4. Lady Gaga in her seat (in uncomfortable looking costume #1) looked like she was suffering for her art.

5. Taylor Swift, you have true class! Shame on the person who tried to ruin Taylor Swift's moment--and especially for his insensitivity in doing so right before she was about to perform.

6. The visuals of Taylor Swift's performance were cool, creatively done, and difficult to coordinate on a live show.

6. On Lady Gaga's performance: Tries. Too. Hard. Fantastic voice, but...

7. Green Day: Loved 'em. No fluff, no muss, and a really good performance. Great energy, tight band.

8. (On Beyonce's performance:) Is anyone else irritated by choreography that makes the artist stop lip syncing for half the song while the backing track continues to sing? Looks awkward. Let's make a decision, people: lip sync and sell it all the way, or nothing.

9. Muse: Good song, but it went on so long I zoned out and started making a mental list of suggestions to send to @james_a_michael 's Record Club . Unfortunately this will not be one of them.

10. On Pink's performance: Either her singing or aerial work could have been cool, but I think they detracted from each other. When you have Pink's fantastic voice and stage presence, that's all you need. But points for doing something really different, live. Pink is one of my favorite current artists.

11. Beyonce: Double class act for giving up her stage time to Taylor Swift. Moment of the night; not a dry eye in my livingroom.

12. Jay-Z: I wasn't into his song (although I've liked some of his other stuff), but I loved what he was wearing. He looked fantastic! Whomever designed that, Kudos!

13. Regarding the trailer for the Michael Jackson film: Blatant promotion done much too soon. Made me a little sick to my stomach.


Overall impressions on the morning after: When the host is the most rock and roll thing about what used to be a fun and irreverent show, something's terribly wrong. Although the MTV VMAs worked for several years, it's become a litany of artist performances trying to match their videos while trying to upstage each other, resulting in one big, blah blur. All that production money for each performance, and the result is that in the end no one shines. I think what the MTV Video Music Awards needs is a different producer, and a fast-paced show runner to move things along while letting the right moments breathe and shine. (What would Pierre Cossette do? RIP, Mr. Cossette.) It also needs artists who don't take themselves so seriously. It's supposed to be FUN!

It Might Get Loud (Must See Film!)

I saw a fantastic documentary over the weekend: It Might Get Loud. It's absolutely the best music documentary I've ever seen (and I've seen tons of 'em).

It Might Get Loud is fly-on-the-wall insight into the inspirations and creative processes of Jimmy Page, U2's The Edge, and White Stripes' / Racanteurs' Jack White...three generations of rock musicians playing the records that influenced them (yes, we're talking honest to goodness vinyl here), playing music (separately and together), and explaining techniques they used to develop their trademark sounds on their most well-known tracks.

It's the stuff that most musicians get together and talk about and do...only, this is on 11. It's the stuff every guitarist, if they had the chance, would want to learn from or talk about with their idol.

If you think you know music, or you think you know these guys' music, or you think you know guitars, or even if you think you don't like these particular musicians, watch this movie and think again! It's absolutely inspiring. (And I'm pretty damn jaded.)

Highlights: Jimmy Page breaking into impromptu air guitar while listening to one of his favorite records. The Edge going through a box of his 4-track demo recordings and letting us hear some of the tracks that later became U2 songs. The opening scene of the film with Jack White. The three of them sitting in a circle on a huge soundstage with their guitars but making it seem like they're in a tiny room, and that we, the audience, are eavesdropping...bringing home the idea that THIS, the musical interaction of the circle, is what it's really all about.

Best moment: the gleam in The Edge's eyes as he moves closer to watch Jimmy Page play "Whole Lotta Love"...and Jack White's reaction. Priceless!

Disclaimer: In the 90's I worked for the talent agency that represented Jimmy Page and Robert Plant when they toured as Page-Plant, as well as for a concert promoter that presented some of their shows. But cool as that was, for me this documentary upped Jimmy Page's cool factor even more. This is the stuff of why I got into music.

Am I too old to buy a Jimmy Page poster??? Just kidding...sort of.

Make your dreams come true!
Randi Reed
Founder / Editor in Chief, MusicBizAdvice.com
Follow me on Twitter @MusicBizAdvice

C 2009 Randi Reed and MusicBizAdvice.com. All rights reserved.

Show notice: Hip-Hop and Rock Fans from Across New England Prepare to Honor the Legacy of Iconic Run-DMC DJ Jam Master Jay

We don't usually post show notices, but this one is for a great cause--RR

Jam Master Jay Foundation for Youth Tribute/Benefit

Date: Sunday July 26, 2009 Doors/Red Carpet: 8:00PM
Patrons of the event can enjoy the 8:00 Red Carpet to show off their best adidas®, Run-DMC, and Peace Boston attire!

Show time: 8:01 SHARP until 2:00AM
Location: Harpers Ferry 158 Brighton Ave Allston, MA
Age: 18+
Price: $20 General admission, $15 for patrons wearing adidas®, Run-DMC, or the Peace Boston Bean on the Map teeshirt. Tickets are available at the door or via www.harpersferryboston.com (full price only)

The Jam Master Jay Foundation and their special celebrity guests will arrive escorted by a motorcycle motorcade!

Scheduled to appear:

* Hip-Hop Pioneer and Grammy-award winning DJ, GrandMixer DXT (Herbie Hancock’s “Rockit”) and Whodini’s Grandmaster Dee, Candi Lynn, and EnMotion, Dancers for Peace.

* DJs Cruz, Ill Neil, Koo Koo, Vance, Nestle Quik, Lefty, Ant G, Daz-One, Killer DJ, Act One, and Doc Luv will spin in a DJ salute

* Moe Pope, Agari Crew, True 2 Life Music, Perfekt and Chance, and Melodeego .

* Peace in the Streets artists Tru Indeed, Lyrical, Lisa Bello, Lady Enchantress, Tshombe, Emcee Sutter Caine, Louie Bello, and Mr. Harvey, backed by Velvet Stylus.

* Plus a “Walk This Way” tribute featuring Shaymin and special guest to be announced.

* David H., Real Talk, and DJ Cruz will host.

This breakthrough event will raise funds for The Jam Master Jay Foundation for Youth, a non-profit 501[c]3 organization developed by the mother and brother of the late legend, to continue the legacy of supporting educational and economic opportunities, including scholarship endeavors and awards, for young people ages 6-21, as well as recognize Jam Master Jay’s many contributions to Hip-Hop culture and music history.

Peace Boston will be on site and their Peace in the Streets compilation album and merchandise will be for sale to raise funds for youth violence prevention and family support efforts.